


smoke you out

by spearbi



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Demon AU, Fluff and Crack, M/M, Past Child Abuse, Supernatural - Freeform, University AU, hmm, jisung and felix are the rich cousins we all deserve, kissin, there's violence! a bit, whew
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-30
Updated: 2018-10-30
Packaged: 2019-08-09 21:15:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16457348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spearbi/pseuds/spearbi
Summary: Jisung clears his throat. “Seungmin, you invoke the board. Ask something.”“What? Why me?”“Because you don’t believe in it. Also, I’m terrified. And I own this entire apartment and probably most of you as well.”“Gee, thanks,” Seungmin mutters. He will admit that the whole thing feels much more real now, with the flickering candles and the dark room and the nervous excitement that is palpable and thick in the air. Even the tacky neon yellow glow of the Ouija board appears more sinister.( Or: Seungmin doesn't believe in demons. Demons believe in Seungmin. )





	smoke you out

**Author's Note:**

> okay u know WHAT im gonna post this now and edit it tomorrow. this lil bitch has been in my drafts for ages. **Happy Halloween!** i probably fucked over my print media grade for this but oh well. yolo, as the kids say
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> _note: if i've missed any tags, please lmk! also, there is past child abuse (violence-wise) mentioned in this fic, so if it makes u uncomfy please don't read! <3_
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> comments + kudos are always appreciated!!!!

October 31st

**[ CHAT ROOM: BIG ANIME TIDDY ]**

**squirrel boy: you guys better bring snacks for tonight  
** **squirrel boy: i literally bought everything else  
** **little kangaroo: we spent so much money on Halloween stuff omg Seungmin was so mad  
** **catty thot: why isn’t he in this chat btw  
** **little kangaroo: bc we originally made this gc to brainstorm ways to get him laid  
** **catty thot: oh yeah LMAOOO  
** **big bear: LOL  
** **changbitch: that went nowhere lolol  
** **squirrel boy: ur all awful friends  
** **squirrel boy: be here. 7pm. i have a surprise  
** **kangaroo chris: you know  
** **kangaroo chris: the last time u talked about surprises  
** **kangaroo chris: I ended up in the er with a one piece figurine stuck up my nostril  
** **changbitch: that was actually pretty funny  
** **catty thot: too bad u can’t ever get ur nose pierced again  
**kangaroo chris: shut up** **

********

The Ouija board sits on Jisung’s coffee table, looking slightly out of place amongst the dirty dishes and half finished college essays. It’s a cheap plastic board, painted with cheesy skulls and monsters, and apparently it also glows in the dark. 

Jisung had spotted it in the Halloween aisle at Target- _“look, it’s the last one! It’s a sign, Seungminnie-,”_ and had thrown it over his shoulder into the overflowing shopping cart Felix was pushing behind them.

 _What a steal_ , Seungmin thinks dryly, looking up from his calculus homework as Jisung apprehensively skirts around the table in his beeline to the kitchen.

“Hey, why is there no food?” Jisung calls, voice muffled by the fridge door, and Seungmin fights the urge to snap his pencil in half.  Felix snickers from the loveseat adjacent to him. 

“Golly gee, I wonder why!” Seungmin drawls. 

“I have like, a thousand Reese’s cups over here,” Felix calls, nudging the gigantic pile of snack sized chocolate bars with his foot.

He, Jisung, and Felix had gone to Target earlier for what was supposed to be things they actually needed. Like food, for example.

In actuality, Jisung and Felix had cleared out almost the entire Halloween aisle, forcing Seungmin to explain to a very annoyed employee that _yes_ , they would be buying out the entire aisle because Jisung is Very Rich. Seungmin doesn’t even flinch at the tab the cashier rings up anymore- he just watches with detached amusement at the expression on the cashier’s face as Jisung nonchalantly swipes a sleek black credit card with a flick of his wrist.

There’s Rich and then there’s Very Rich, and Jisung’s family is the latter of the two. In fact, Jisung is so unbelievably filthy rich that Seungmin had a hard time believing the older boy, even after he’d seen the Han family’s sprawling, thirty-acre plot of land, with its thirty room mansion and Olympic sized swimming pool. 

Jisung’s family has been Very Rich ever since Seungmin can remember- and that’s been a while. 

_(In third grade, Seungmin is asked to help out one of his new classmates with the latest math unit they’ve been working on._

_“He just transferred from out of the country, so he has a lot of work to catch up on,” his teacher says, waving a short, chubby cheeked kid over._

_The new student has a mop of dirty blonde hair and big, round eyes, and he sizes Seungmin up with more confidence than someone of his short stature should. His school uniform hangs off of his tiny frame, and the sleeves and hems of his pants are rolled up several times just to make the clothes fit._

_There’s a steel to his gaze, however, that adds several inches to his diminutive frame._

_“Hey,” Seungmin says quietly, sticking out a hand. “I’m Kim Seungmin. Nice to meet you.” The kid hesitates briefly before reaching out and clasping his smaller, slightly sweaty hand in Seungmin’s._

_“I’m Jisung. Nice to meet you too, I guess. I hate math,” Jisung says, bottom lip pushed out in a pout. Seungmin giggles at the other boy’s glum expression and tugs him by the hand back towards his desk._

_“Well, I like math, so you’re in luck!”_

_Jisung smiles then, happy and gap-toothed, and the rest, as they say, is history.)_

“If I’d known back then that I’d end up being your lifelong babysitter, I would’ve let you fail third grade math,” Seungmin mutters, wincing as the tip of his pencil breaks off against his worksheet mid equation.

Jisung poked his head around the doorframe, eyes narrowed. “What was that? I couldn’t quite make it out.”

Seungmin is a jack of many trades- but he’s a coward above all else, so he just shrugs.

Felix looks up from his phone and pushes the lollipop he’s eating against his cheek, giving him the impression of a very freckled chipmunk.  “Something about wanting you to fail third grade math?”

Seungmin kicks out at Felix and smirks when the redhead yelps in pain, dropping his phone to clutch at his shin.

“Not cool, dude! I was just being honest!”

Lee Felix is Jisung’s cousin: also Very Rich, but not as ostentatious about it. Jisung has a canary yellow Porsche; Felix has a closet filled with white Gucci t-shirts that cost more than Seungmin’s university tuition.

_(He transfers to Seungmin and Jisung’s high school part way through sophomore year, causing a stir with his Australian accent, deep voice, and smattering of freckles. Everyone wants to be his friend, and Felix does his best to reciprocate. He’s the kind of popular person who should be a dick, but he isn’t- Seungmin has never met anyone kinder and warm hearted in his whole life.)_

The three were an inseparable group all through high school, and after it as well; they go to different universities but share one very nice, very expensive apartment.

_( “My dad bought out the entire complex, so don’t worry about the rent,” Jisung says quietly to him the week before their freshman year of university, and Seungmin doesn’t know whether to laugh or cry.)_

“Honesty will get you absolutely nowhere in this economy, Lee Felix, and you know it.” Seungmin sniffs and picks up his pencil. He will get this calculus homework done before the Halloween party tonight; Jisung throws one each year, and Seungmin is never able to concentrate on his work during it as there is simply too much screaming and drunk shenanigans.  

Jisung pouts and pliés across the white shag carpet to flop on the couch beside Seungmin, eyes wide and beseeching. He curls his hands around Seungmin’s arm and leans his head against the taller boys’ shoulder.  “Seungminnie, I can’t believe you’d say something like that to your best bro… your dudefriend…your knight in shining armor…”

“I don’t know if I’d go that far,” Seungmin says mildly, but there’s a hint of a grin pulling at the sides of his mouth, and Jisung sees his chance. “So,” the blonde drawls, leaning on Seungmin’s worksheets, “To make up for being so mean to me, you’re going to come out of your room for the party instead of holing up in your room again this year, right?”

Seungmin shrugs guiltily, and Jisung’s puppy eyes intensify. 

“Please? It’s just people we know this year- Chris and his crew. Nothing big, I swear. And,” Jisung whispers, side eyeing the Ouija board on the table, “We’re gonna play with the Ouija board. Try to summon a demon, or something.”

Felix blinks and sits up a little straighter in the overstuffed loveseat.

“What?”

Jisung fans out his hands and inspects his manicured nails carefully. “Yeah, I saw a couple of Youtube videos and all of them said that it works best on Halloween- the veil being thinner or some shit like that.”

“My mom says-,” Felix starts uneasily, but Jisung waves a hand daintily, cutting his cousin off.

“Aunt Lee is superstitious as all hell and you know it, ‘Lix. Gets all of her information off of Pinterest- Remember when she rubbed your Rolex in garlic and chives for ‘extra protection’?”

“I couldn’t get the smell out of that watch… it was my favorite one, too.” Felix says, clenching his fist and shaking it in the air. Jisung nods sagely.  “Yeah. Not exactly a reliable source. Look: it’s just for fun, all right? Obviously you can’t actually do anything with an Ouija board. They wouldn’t sell it at fucking Target if you could.”  

Felix purses his lips. “You gonna go along with this, Min?”

Seungmin scoffs. “Obviously not- demons and hell aren’t real. They’re a fear tactic fabricated by the early church in order to receive more monetary offerings from the poor.”

Jisung’s face crumples.

“However, I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to see Jisung freaking himself the fuck out, so I guess I’m in.”

Felix groans his defeat, throwing one Gucci clad arm over his face, and Jisung beams up at Seungmin, grin brighter than the late October sun. Seungmin smiles back and ignores the niggling voice in the back of his head that tells him he’s making a bad decision.

In the meantime, he still has some advanced calculus questions to finish. In his opinion, they’re more terrifying than anything paranormal could ever be. 

The party shows up around eight o'clock in the form of Chan and Changbin, followed closely behind by Minho, Jeongin, and Woojin. Seungmin doesn’t miss the way Jisung reddens when Changbin greets him, and neither does Chan, who exchanges an amused glance with him.

Chan and Changbin were their upperclassmen in high school; despite being three years older, the two mesh well into their friend group. Minho and Woojin are Jisung’s university friends, and Seungmin is rather fond of both. They’re less loud than the rest of the group, but are infinitely more diabolical. Jeongin is a new addition to their group- a shy high school senior that Seungmin is very soft on. 

“Where’s the vodka?” Minho hisses to Seungmin, eyes watery and slightly red. “Have you been crying?” Seungmin asks incredulously, turning the older boy in the direction of the liquor cabinet and giving him a gentle push. “Nah,” Woojin says, watching Minho stumble back towards them with a bottle in each hand, “he’s just high as fuck.”

“Oh,” Seungmin says faintly, feeling a faint sense of dread as Minho pops the cork and starts to chug the liquor straight from the bottle. He’s almost impressed- had it been him drinking, he’d be under the table already. 

Woojin sighs. “You have another one of those?”

“Jisung made jello shots,” Felix says cheerily, one arm looped through Chan’s. “They’re in the kitchen.” Woojin nods and speed walks towards the door, the others close behind. Seungmin is left standing next to an already tipsy Minho.

“Minho,” Seungmin murmurs cautiously, “Maybe you should lay off on the vodka until later? It’s not going anywhere, you know.”

Minho blinks up at him blearily. “I know. Just wanna keep her close.” He pats the vodka bottle gently and slides it underneath his fluffy coat. Seungmin opens his mouth and then closes it, deciding that Jisung probably won’t miss one bottle of vodka. 

Sighing, he tucks Minho’s hand into the crook of his arm and gently drags him to where the others are gathered around the island in the kitchen.

Parties are always a little strange for Seungmin- he’s no stranger to drunken shenanigans and hangovers, but even surrounded by friends, he always feels a little out of place. Most of these people he’s close to; they’re friends he’s been around for years and years on end, but in a big group like this, with all of these big personalities, Seungmin can’t help but feel a little invisible.

“You bought an Ouija board?” Chan yelps, Australian accent thick. The older boy casts a suspicious look over his shoulder. “You better not be planning to do any stupid shit because I will have nothing to do with that demon plate.”

“We’re doing it,” Jisung, Felix, and Minho chorus in unison, and Woojin lets loose another long suffering sigh before throwing back another shot.  Changbin wordlessly offers Seungmin a shot, and after a moment, he too swallows it down with a silent _fuck it._

They settle around the coffee table cross-legged, and they all stare at the innocuous, tacky board lying on it for a moment.

Felix clears his throat.

“Don’t we need like… candles? I was watching The Craft yesterday and they had all this shit set out- a chalk pentagram, crystals, that kinda stuff.”

“I think my parents have some Armani candles lying around,” Jisung says, standing up and smoothing out his pullover, “but I think it’s with their kinky shit so… I’ll go get them.” Changbin snorts.

“Are you sure that it’s their kinky shit?”

Jisung turns a brilliant shade of tomato red, and everyone bursts out laughing as the blonde practically runs out of the room.

“The fact that he knows where their stuff is actually kinda sexy,” Minho says thoughtfully, and Felix snorts, spraying a mouthful of beer all over Chan.

“That is so fucking gross! I literally bought this Stüssy shirt yesterday…”

“Whatever, I’ll buy you like, ten more,” Felix says flippantly, chucking a half eaten Snickers at Chan’s forehead. The older boy pops the chocolate in his mouth and leans in, eyes round. “Oh my god, am I your sugar baby now? Is this the start of something beautiful?”

“It doesn’t work like that-you’re older than me, you dumbass.”

“Now that would definitely be sexy,” Minho purrs, biting a bright red lollipop in half with a loud crack.

Woojin avoids eye contact with Minho and laughs nervously.

“It’s definitely his kinky shit,” Seungmin mutters to Changbin, and he’d be blind to not notice the way the older boys’ eyes widen, tips of his ears flushing red. _Looks like Jisung’s feelings aren’t going unreciprocated._ Jisung owes him for this being a good wingman.

 

Jisung returns with the candles, and after a brief squabble with Minho (and one quick search on Google) he lays them out in a circle around the board and lights them. Chan shoves an Aero into his mouth and chews uneasily. Minho flips the lights off, throwing the group into a near darkness. Seungmin looks around the circle and can see his own thoughts written clearly on their faces- _now this is a little creepy._

“We need this to start.” Jisung holds the planchette up for everyone to see before placing it on the Ouija board. “ Everyone, put one of your fingers on it. It uses our energy, or something.” He proceeds to do just that, and after a moment of hesitation, Changbin does the same, smiling shyly at the blonde. 

Chan scoots away from the coffee table. “Sorry, but I need all of my energy- and my soul- intact.” Felix eyes the other Aussie, hesitating, but opts to reach over and stick his pointer finger onto the planchette. The others follow suit, grumbling but complacent. 

Seungmin rolls his eyes. “Do you guys honestly think anything is going to happen? It’s all plastic and the placebo effect.”

Woojin lets out a quiet “It’s still pretty fucking scary,” and sticks his middle finger onto the planchette, eliciting a startled laugh from Minho. Felix looks over at Seungmin expectantly. 

“Minnie? You gonna join?” 

Seungmin sighs. “How could I say no?” Jisung cheers as Seungmin reaches between Minho and Changbin to place his pointer finger onto the planchette. A shiver runs up his spine as his finger makes contact with the cool plastic, and he almost draws his hand back. _It’s all up in your mind, Seungmin._

The room is silent, save for the gentle crinkling of candy bar wrappers coming from Chan’s general direction. There’s an odd heaviness in the air- something old and dark pressing in all around them. The candlelight dances and flickers when Felix speaks. “We say hello first, right?” 

“That’s what Wikihow told me,” Jisung deadpans, and the pressure leaks out of the room like a deflating balloon as everyone laughs. “Don’t like, press down on the planchette. Let it glide across the board like your fingers are ice skating.” 

“You are such a weirdo,” Felix mutters as the six boys move the planchette over to **Hello.**

Jisung clears his throat. “Seungmin, you invoke the board. Ask something.” 

“What? Why me?” 

“Because you don’t believe in it. Also, I’m terrified. And I own this entire apartment and probably most of you as well.” 

“Thanks for that vote of confidence,” Seungmin mutters. He will admit that the whole thing feels much more real now, with the flickering candles and the dark room and the nervous excitement that is palpable and thick in the air. Even the tacky neon yellow glow of the Ouija board appears more sinister. 

He licks his lips. _Here we go, I guess._

“Uh… is anyone there that wants to speak to us?” They all stare down at their hands for a long moment, eyes wide. And then the planchette moves, slowly but deliberately. 

**NO.**

Jisung gulps. “Nobody take your fingers off of the planchette.” 

“What the fuck!” Minho screeches, looking around the circle wildly. “Who did that?” Nobody says anything. Changbin scoffs, but his eyes are round. _Probably Woojin_ , Seungmin thinks. The older man is much more conniving than he lets on. 

_Well, two can play that game._

Seungmin straightens his spine and takes a deep breath. “Let me reiterate: is there anybody there?” He suppresses a snort as the planchette swiftly slides across the board to **YES.** “Kind of a smartass, aren’t you?” 

Chan sputters from the couch behind him. “You can’t just say that to an unknown paranormal entity, dude! Do not fuck with demons. Seriously.” 

"Hey demons, it's me, ya boy," Jeongin hisses, and Changbin snickers. 

Felix inhales sharply. “Look, it’s moving now.” 

**F-**

**U-**

**“C-K-Y-O-U.”** Seungmin grins, looking around the circle. “Very classy, Woojin.” 

“What?” Woojin says faintly. He looks a little pale, but that could just be the candlelight. 

“You’re not moving the planchette?”

“It’s definitely not me, I swear to god.” 

Seungmin can feel that pressure, that heaviness, crawling up the back of his neck. “And it’s seriously not any of you?” The rest of the circle shakes their heads, clearly freaked out, and it’s then that Seungmin starts to get a little scared. 

“Are you a ghost?” 

The planchette moves in little zigzags before coming to rest on **NO.**

“What are you?” 

No response. “Maybe we should stop,” Changbin murmurs, but his suggestion falls on deaf ears as the others stare downwards, gazes transfixed to the Ouija board. Chan shoves a handful of cheese cubes from the fridge into his mouth. 

“What’s your name?” The pressure becomes a tangible, physical force on the back of his neck, cold and heavy, and Seungmin gasps as the planchette moves so fast over the board that the others can barely keep their fingers on it. 

**H-Y-U-N-J-I-N** , the planchette says.

“Hyunjin,” Seungmin whispers back, so quietly that it could have been nothing more than an exhale. The planchette halts suddenly, throwing everyone’s fingers off of the planchette except for Seungmin. There’s a brief pause, and then all hell breaks loose. 

Seungmin shudders as a biting, icy cold spreads outwards from his sternum in waves, causing him to curl inwards instinctively as the feeling intensifies. He’s so cold, he’s never been so cold before- he’d lived in Canada for a couple of years with his grandparents, but those northern winters were infinitesimal compared to what he’s feeling now. 

Faintly, he can make out muted sounds- he thinks he hears Chan yelling something, and maybe someone is shaking him back and forth, but that could just be him. 

He’s barely aware of a presence next to him, someone other inside his head. _I know you’re there,_ he thinks, words fracturing and splintering like glass as he struggles to piece the sentence together. _I can feel you._ It’s amused. It thinks what’s happening to Seungmin is funny. He sucks in a shallow breath as the ice inside his stomach increases, crawling inside of his bones and crystallizing around the base of his spine. 

Seungmin can hear a high pitched noise, shrill and guttural, and after a moment he realizes that the sound is coming from him. His vision fades soft and blurry, and as he falls down down down into unconsciousness, he thinks he hears somebody laugh. 

***  
**November 1st**

Something tickles his nose, and Seungmin irritably raises a hand to push it away. He freezes as that something brushes his hair, mind races as unfamiliar fingers cards gently through it. “Oh, you’re waking up.” 

By the time he forces his heavy eyes open, there’s nobody there. He’s in his room: the dinosaur posters and his photographs all over the light blue walls pull a warm wave of comfort over him, and he lets out a shaky sigh as everything starts to come back to him. Watery light filters through the curtained window, casting the room in hues of yellow and gold.

_It’s early morning- I must have slept through the night._

One of the guys must have carried him upstairs last night. 

He moves to get out of bed and winces as his muscles seize in protest. He’s sore, but after a brief and puzzling inspection of his body he finds that there are no bruises or cuts on his body. Seungmin shudders as he remembers that biting, bone-chilling cold.

“What on earth happened last night?” He murmurs, flinching as his bare feet make contact with the cool wooden floor. 

 

The apartment is oddly silent for a space shared between three people; Seungmin’s breathing sounds loud in his own ears as he quietly opens his door and makes his way down the hall. “Jisung? Felix?” He calls out softly. There’s no response; they must still be asleep. Biting down on the inside of his cheek, Seungmin carefully peeks around the corner to survey the living room. It’s no different from last night- candy wrapper all over the floor, pillows thrown all over the room, and it looks like somebody spilled a beer onto the Very Expensive carpets. 

There’s nothing on the coffee table, however. The Ouija board is gone. 

“Thank god,” Seungmin mutters. Maybe he’d dreamed the whole thing up. He’s about to shuffle past the entryway to go and make some tea when he catches movement in his periphery. A head of black hair is just barely visible over the top of the plush leather couch. 

Seungmin lets out a choked sigh of relief. It’s just Minho- he’s probably decided to crash at the apartment. “Minho?” He whispers, walking over to the couch. A small scream escapes from his mouth. The person who looks up at him is most definitely not Minho. He’s also most definitely not human, if the small, curled horns on top of his head are in fact real. 

“Hello,” the beautiful man says, beautiful lips curving up into a sweet smile. He’s strangely, unsettlingly gorgeous- his eyes are large and almond shaped and the slope of his nose and jaw are of nearly perfection proportion. His eyes are a bright neon green, with the pupils large and black, and his teeth are a little too sharp to be considered normal. 

Reeling, Seungmin stumbles backwards and ends up with his back pressed flat against the living room wall. “Who the fuck are you?” He hisses, fists clenched tightly at his sides. The man stands fluidly and crawls over the back of the couch, much to Seungmin’s dismay. 

“You don’t remember me?” The other man says curiously, head tilted. He’s much too close to Seungmin, who is fighting both the urge to vomit as well as the urge to make eye contact. He’s only a few inches taller than Seungmin, but his proximity makes him seem much taller.

“No,” Seungmin says shortly, “I don’t.” 

The man freezes. “You said my name last night, Seungmin. I heard it.” 

_No._

Terror causes adrenaline to shoot through his body, every muscle tensing up in preparation to run. Seungmin licks his dry lips and shivers as the man tracks his movements. “Hyunjin?” A slow, smooth smile spread across the man’s – Hyunjin’s- face, and Seungmin feels physically ill. 

“There’s no point in screaming for help,” Hyunjin purrs, leaning in until his nose barely brushes Seungmin’s. “They won’t be able to see me. It was you who called my name: it’s you who can see me now.” 

“What the fuck,” Seungmin says hysterically, pushing himself away from Hyunjin and making a beeline for the front door, “this can’t be happening. It’s not real.” He can’t help the full body shudder that runs through him as Hyunjin grabs his wrist, forcing him to stop in his tracks. 

“Please don't turn your back to me.” Hyunjin speaks quietly, but one would be an idiot to miss the thin layer of ice coating his words. 

“Don’t touch me,” Seungmin says tightly, his fear turning into white hot rage. “Don’t you fucking touch me.” To his surprise, Hyunjin releases his wrist, and steps backwards. Seungmin takes several steps towards the front door before hesitating. He’s terrified, and confused, and maybe a little bit hungover from all the jello shots- but more than everything else, Seungmin is _curious._

“Seungmin?” He looks over Hyunjin’s shoulder to see Jisung standing in the hallway, pyjama clad and sleepy. 

_Oh, thank god._

Hyunjin’s lips curl up at the corners, more smirk than smile. “I told you; he can’t see or hear me. He didn’t speak my name.” 

Jisung rubs his eyes. “Why are you up so early? You look kind of hungover and it’s like, Sunday, so you should really be asleep.” He looks straight through Hyunjin as though he’s not there, gaze soft and concerned. 

“You can’t see him?” Seungmin chokes out, his voice garbled. Jisung’s frown lines deepen. 

“See who?” 

Hyunjin tugs on Seungmin’s sleeve lightly. “I told you. He’s just going to think that you’re crazy. You’re stuck with me now- at least until I get bored, or until you’re smart enough to find a way to get rid of me.” 

For a moment, Seungmin desperately wants to tell Jisung that he’s hearing and seeing and feeling the presence of a floating, horned entity that came out of a shitty dollar store Ouija board. He wants Jisung to take him to see somebody, wants someone to tell him that he’s stress hallucinating, but he knows that he’s not hallucinating. He understands this unfortunate truth as well as he understands finite-dimensional vector spaces. 

Whatever Hyunjin is, he’s absolutely and unfortunately real, and he’s going to have to live with that reality until he can find some way to rid himself of him. 

Seungmin grits teeth, clenching his jaw so hard that Jisung winces. “It’s nothing. Still half asleep, I guess.” 

Jisung laughs. “Yeah, and maybe still a little drunk? I don’t remember anything from last night, dude. Must have gotten totally blasted.” 

Hyunjin chuckles from where he’s leaning against the corridor wall, arms crossed. “I do tend to have that effect on people.” 

Seungmin sighs in defeat and bends down to pull on his worn sneakers. “You should go back to bed, Jisung. It’s still early.” 

Hyunjin and Jisung both speak at the same time, voices overlapping eerily. “Where are you going?” 

“Church. I’m feeling religious today.” 

Jisung shrugs before waving a farewell and shuffling back down the hallway, tightening the belt of his puffy robe around his waist. “Say hi to the big guy in the sky for me.” 

Hyunjin chortles as Seungmin locks the apartment door behind him and makes his way down the front steps. “I can follow you anywhere, you know. Churches can’t keep me out.” 

Seungmin ignores him. 

***

The morning is crisp and cool, more winter than fall now, with fog curling off of the tops of houses and lawns. The moon is still visible in the early dawn sky, playing hide and seek with the sun, rising on the opposite of the earth.

“I half hoped you’d disappear in direct sunlight,” Seungmin murmurs, looking over his shoulder, “But it seems as though it’s not going to be that easy to get rid of you.” 

Hyunjin shrugs, long arms crossed over his chest. “I don’t see why you’d want to. For the right price, you could benefit greatly from my skills.”

“I don’t even want to know what kind of skills you’re talking about.” 

“My gifts lie in the realm of chance. Fortune. Gambling. As you can imagine, there are many, many ways in which those gifts could aid you.” Hyunjin keeps stride with Seungmin, long legs easily keeping pace. “Just say the word, and I’ll give you anything you want. Money, fame, women- name it, and you’ll have it.” 

Seungmin scoffs, twin plumes of frozen breath twisting in the air in front of him. “Nice try. I have no need for money nor fame, and women aren’t a currency.”

“Well, sorry,” Hyunjin chuffs, eyebrows pinched, “it’s what most men wanted the last time I was free to walk this Earth.” 

“And when was that?” Seungmin says, curiosity piqued. 

Hyunjin taps his chin with one long, perfectly manicured finger. “Let’s see. I think that was… the forties, I believe? During the height of the second World War. Child’s play to our kind, but the greed, the gambling…” The dark haired man closes his eyes and hums. “…simply delicious.” 

Seungmin makes a face. “Well, that’s weird, but the world’s changed a lot. For the most part, anyways. There’s still plenty of gambling.” 

Hyunjin catches a falling leaf in his fist and begins to tear it neatly into small pieces. “I’m very aware of most major changes in the world. Technology, current affairs, culture- Hell isn’t completely barbaric, you know. We have television and very spotty Wi-Fi. Unfortunately, the bad internet comes with the territory.” 

“I can’t believe I’m having this conversation.” 

Hyunjin winks roguishly, cheeks reddened by the brisk wind. “Better believe it, baby.” 

Seungmin fights back a blush, and marches the next two blocks to the St. Martin’s Catholic Church in a frosty silence. He hesitates on the big white steps, biting back against the onslaught of old, cobwebbed memories. The glossy oak doors are just as big as Seungmin remembers. 

_( It’s a cold December night, two weeks or so before Christmas. Snow has been falling for days now, and the city has slowed to a crawl because of it. Cars lie parked in driveways and on the street, all covered in a thick blanket of snow._

_Seungmin, aged eleven, sinks up to his knees with every step, but he pushes forwards until his mother picks him up and piggybacks him the last few blocks. In his hand, Seungmin clutches a little stuffed bird, the button eyes missing and the feathers stained. His nose is running._

_His mother shakes as she knocks on the church doors, her son’s hand clutched tightly in her own. The heavy doors creak open, spilling a wide crack of golden light into the dimly lit entrance. A short, balding man in priest wear, peeks around the corner to look at the visitors, no doubt wondering who must be knocking at this time of night._

_The Father looks at them, takes in the bruises on Seungmin’s mothers’ face and the terrified look in Seungmins eyes, and puts together the dots. “Sanctuary,” Seungmin’s mother says breathlessly, “We seek sanctuary.” The Father nods, opens the door fully, and ushers them inside without another word.)_

Seungmin hesitates and licks his lips nervously, his knuckles just barely kissing the wooden doors. 

_Some memories don’t fade._

Hyunjin, who is leaning against the wall of the church, raises an eyebrow but says nothing. Seungmin knocks three times, and after a few long moments that garner no response, he does so again. This time, he doesn’t have to wait long. 

He steps back as the doors creak open with a long, heavy groan. Hyunjin and Seungmin both stare as a wrinkled, tanned hand flutters in front of the doorway before disappearing. 

“Father Ambrose,” Seungmin says loudly, cheeks reddening, “it’s just me again.” 

A short, bald man immediately steps out, smile large and warm. “Seungmin! It’s been a while, my dear boy. Please, come in!”

Seungmin hesitates, looking back at Hyunjin, who scowls. 

Father Ambrose smiles. “Your friend is welcome inside as well- though I doubt you need my permission, do you?” Hyunjin blinks, clearly surprised. “You see me?” 

“I’m old,” Father Ambrose sighs, “but my eyes still work just fine.” He taps his forehead with one gnarled finger. “All three of them.” He turns and walks inside, leaving the other two to hurry after him. 

The doors close with a thud. 

“What the fuck,” Seungmin whispers under his breath. Hyunjin sneezes as they enter, nose crinkling. “Ew, incense.” 

The interior of the church is wide and white, with sloped ceiling and wooden beams crisscrossing between plates of stained glass. Crosses dot the walls of the sanctuary, and Seungmin can’t help but note that while Hyunjin isn’t melting into a puddle of goo at the sight of them, he does seem unsettled.

“Let’s go to my office and talk,” Father Ambrose calls, beckoning them down a cheerily lit hallway. “I have tea.” 

Hyunjin scratches his horns absentmindedly, his gaze wandering. “This is going to be interesting.” 

Father Ambrose’s office is just as Seungmin remembers- cozy, with books stacked on the floor, bookshelves, and on the Father’s desk. Seungmin sits in one of the two plush chairs facing the desk, and Hyunjin carefully follows suit, fingers tapping his thigh. His phone buzzes from his sweater pocket, startling him. 

**jisung: hey  
jisung: u sure ur ok? looked kinda upset this morning**

**me: I’m fine. Thanks for worrying. Love you**

**jisung: : (( bro. love u too bro. come home asap, kay? felix is making waffles and fried chicken for brunch**

**me: :p**

Small potted plants dot the room, filling the space with a gentle fragrance, and Seungmin takes a deep breath full of incense free air as Father Ambrose closes the door behind him.

“Apologies for the smell outside- we’ve been having trouble lately with keeping unwanted guests out of the Lord’s home.” 

Seungmin hikes a thumb up over at Hyunjin. “He’s not an unwanted guest?”

Father Ambrose laughs as he pours water into a little tin kettle. “You mean Belphegor’s spawn? If the Lord deemed him Dark, he wouldn’t have set foot within this sanctuary without crumbling into a pillar of salt.” 

Seungmin shifts in his chair to look the demon in the eyes. “Who’s Belphegor?” 

Hyunjin winces and crosses his arms. 

“My old man. We don’t get along.” 

“Chamomile?” Father Ambrose asks mildly, immediately dropping three tea bags into three little saucers. Hyunjin opens his mouth as if to protest, but snaps it shut as Father Ambrose continues speaking. 

“Belphegor is a high tier demon, most known for being the chief demon of the deadly sin we know as ‘Sloth’. His lesser known abilities include giving people epiphanies- the discovery of a new something- but I suppose that isn’t frightening or impressive enough to merit much.” 

Seungmin leans forward, curious. “Is he your ‘unwanted guest’?”

Father Ambrose sighs, one hand reaching up to clasp at the rosary around his neck. “Unfortunately, no. What we’re dealing with here is something much older than Belphegor, and much more angry- though Belphegor certainly does have a temper, from what I’ve heard.” 

Hyunjin frowns, his hands balling up into fists. “Can we not talk about my dad?” 

“Yes, let’s not,” Seungmin says nervously, watching Hyunjin’s horns sputter and spark with tiny red flames. “Let’s talk about how you can see Hyunjin, and about how I can rid myself of him.” 

“Of course,” Father Ambrose says, smoothly pouring the boiling water into the teacups, “let’s start with myself.” 

“Most priests, if properly ordained and of good character, are able to recognize and see Dark creations such as demons, ghosts, and the like. Not many, however, are able to both see them and bind them. I can. It’s the Church’s’ best kept secret.” 

“This is a lot to take in,” Seungmin mumbles, closing his eyes. It seems almost unthinkable that only a day ago, Seungmin was living as close to a normal life as was possible. His greatest worry was about dipping below a 98 in Advanced Calculus. 

_And now I have a demon and an entire hidden world to worry about._

Father Ambrose reaches across the desk and pats Seungmins arm gently. “I know it is. You’re very strong, and most certainly not crazy, if that’s what you were afraid of. Sadly, your friend- Hyunjin, is it?- is just as real as you or I.” 

“How very kind of you,” Hyunjin grumbles, horns still sparking slightly. 

The priest hands Hyunjin a teacup. “Careful now, it’s hot.” Seungmin doesn’t miss the amusement glinting in Father Ambrose’s eyes, and has to muffle a giggle into his own teacup. Judging from the glare Hyunjin shoots his way, he wasn’t very successful in concealing it. 

Father Ambrose leans back in his chair. “As for getting rid of Hyunjin- well, that’s a very sticky situation.” 

Seungmin stares down into his cup, watching the amber liquid swirl around the teabag. _That’s not what I wanted to hear._ For the first time that day, Hyunjin is oddly silent, shoulders tense and hands gripping the teacup with white knuckles. 

“Could you tell me how the two of you have-er, become acquainted?”

Seungmin nods, and then explains the whole Halloween party fiasco- the glow in the dark Ouija board, the distressed Target employees, and how everything had gone to shit when Seungmin had said Hyunjin’s name. As he speaks, he can see Hyunjin looking more and more uncomfortable from the corner of his eye. 

_Maybe Father Ambrose really does know a way to get rid of him._

Father Ambrose hums, stroking his full white beard, thick brows raised. “Interesting. Usually demonic attachments cause severe pain and mental discord within the human vessel it’s bound to- but you’re not feeling any different than usual, are you?” 

Seungmin shakes his head, confused, and Father Ambrose turns his gaze on the demon, who seems to shrink back in his chair. “You’re a very strange demon,” the father muses. “Tell me- who was your mother?” 

The teacup shatters in Hyunjin’s hands, the hot liquid inside exploding outward. Seungmin flinches at the dark, cold look in Hyunjin’s green eyes. “Be careful where you tread, priest. Don’t ask me about my parents.” 

Oddly enough, Seungmin can’t help but feel a pang of sympathy for the other man. _I know what it’s like to have shitty parents._

Father Ambrose frowns. “You got tea on my new robes.”

Hyunjin stares at him, confused. “Sorry?” 

“That’s better.” The elderly stands up and bends down to collect the ceramic shards. “Seungmin, the best advice I can offer you- the least dangerous advice I can give you- is to figure out why he came here and tied himself to you. As far as I can tell, Hyunjin didn’t need to. There’s another reason he’s here. Also-,” at this, the priest straightens up and looks Seungmin directly in the eye. “-Hyunjin isn’t his true name. All demons have a true name. Once you find his real name, you can banish him, destroy him- whichever you want.”

Hyunjin snarls, low and guttural, and stands up abruptly, the chair skittering backwards behind him. “We’re leaving.” 

Seungmin sighs. “Don’t tell me what to do, stupid.” He bends down to collect the rest of the ceramic pieces, and hisses in pain when one particularly jagged piece cuts his pointer finger. “Father Ambrose,” he starts, watching the blood well up and bead on the tip of his finger, “do you have any bandages?” 

He startles as Hyunjin crouches next to him. “I can take care of it,” the demon says innocently, grabbing Seungmin’s hand, and promptly sticks the cut finger into his mouth. 

“That’s unsanitary,” Seungmin squeaks. Hyunjin’s mouth is very warm and his gaze is firmly, firmly locked with his own. The room seems to rise in temperature as Hyunjin swipes his tongue over the pad of Seungmin’s finger, velvet. Seungmin gawks openly as the skin of his finger knits back together before his very own eyes. 

Father Ambrose clears his throat, and Seungmin yanks his hand out of Hyunjin’s grasp, face burning. “Perhaps it’s time for the two of you to go.” 

“Yes- great idea, the guys are waiting for me back home.” Seungmin relaxes as the father gives him a gentle pat on the shoulder. Father Ambrose’s eyes are kind, if worried, and the words that come out of his mouth next are ones that mean well. 

“Despite everything, you seem lighter now. I’m so proud of you, Seungmin. Don’t hesitate to pop in whenever you need help- and do say hello to your mother for me, will you?” 

Seungmin barely manages to choke the words out as Father Ambrose ushers them out of his office and to the front doors of the church. “Of course.” 

He won’t. Seungmin hasn’t seen his mother in years- not since ninth grade, when his grandmother came and took him away from both her, and his father. Seungmin doesn’t remember much of that day, but he does recall the immense feeling of relief, as well as the cold, sinking sensation of guilt. 

He thinks of his father, and swallows down a hot, ugly ball of rage. _He won’t find me again._

***

Seungmin manages to get through lunch (brunch?) without speaking directly to Hyunjin and making himself look absolutely unhinged, but that’s not to say he doesn’t have a couple of close calls. 

“Is that fried chicken? God, I haven’t had proper fried chicken in millennia. All we have in Hell is this nasty charred shit that doesn’t even taste like meat. It just crumbles apart into ash in your mouth, it’s absolutely disgusting-,” 

“If you shut up, I’ll give you some later,” Seungmin mutters under his breath, stabbing the fluffy waffles on his plate with unnecessary force. Felix looks up at him from across the Very Expensive kitchen table, freckled cheeks stuffed with food. There’s a dash of syrup on the corner of his mouth.

“What did you say?”

Seungmin panics. “Nothing! Just talking to myself. About class tomorrow.” He freezes. He has class tomorrow, and there’s no way that Hyunjin won’t follow him there, talking his ear off the whole while.

 _I’ve really got to find a way to banish him._

Jisung extends his leg under the table and nudges a socked foot against Seungmin’s shin. “You sure you’re okay, dude? You seem, I don’t know, kinda on edge. Anything you wanna tell us about?” 

_I’m being followed by a demon! Yes, those are real. And very annoying._

“Nothing. Just tired.”

Felix and Jisung exchange a look, and Seungmin shoves another square of waffle into his mouth so he doesn’t have to speak again.

Hyunjin says nothing more until after lunch. 

Seungmin aggressively dumps a cup of detergent in the sink, letting his mind blank as the metal tub fills with hot, soapy water. Hyunjin sighs from where he’s perched on the kitchen counter, long legs kicking bag and forth against the cupboards idly.

“This is so… mundane. You really don’t have anything more interesting going on? No drama?” The demon sighs and props his chin up on his hands. 

“Maybe you should go back home, then?” Seungmin suggests mildly, scrubbing a plate with a bit more force than is needed. Hyunjin scooches closer to the sink, curled horns dangerously close to scraping the upper cupboards.

“No- you’re not that boring. Kinda cute, actually,” the demon muses, and Seungmin nearly drops a crystal encrusted plate. 

“What?” 

Hyunjin slides off of the counter and deftly catches a cup that is wobbling dangerously at the edge of the sink. This proximity, however, is much too close to Seungmin for Seungmin’s liking, and he can feel his face heating up. Hyunjin grins, and this time it’s less wicked and more soft, more human. 

_Nu-uh, Kim Seungmin,_ he thinks, trying very hard not to notice how nice Hyunjin smells (like cedar and smoke and mint), _it’s been a while since you’ve dated but we’re not going to stoop as low as a demon._

“You heard me,” Hyunjin repeats, that same soft smile on his face, “Cute. Like a puppy- or some small, tiny thing.” 

“I am most certainly not,” Seungmin cries weakly, knowing full well that he is absolutely, earth-shatteringly adorable, “And I don’t swing that way!”

Hyunjin blinks, the smile slowly fading from his face. “You aren’t interested in men?” 

Seungmin sputters, wringing the dishtowel nervously between his soapy hands. “Well- no- it’s not that, I’m just not interested in fraternizing with demons!” Hyunjin’s grin returns full force, and Seungmin squeaks as the taller man gently pins him against the sink with his body. “We’ll see about that, Seungmin.” the demon coos, tugging on Seungmin’s cheek carefully. “You’re really missing out.” 

Hyunjin doesn’t even notice the tightly wound dishtowel coming at him before it’s too late. The towel snaps against Hyunjin's bare arm with a loud _thwack_ , drawing a startled noise from the demon. Seungmin smiles beatifically as the demon yelps, rubbing at his arm. “What the fuck? That hurt!” 

“Firstly, Hyunjin,” Seungmin states, “Give me my personal space. We might be stuck together, but there’s no reason for you to keep crowding me all the time.” Hyunjin pouts, still cradling his arm, but Seungmin is anything but sympathetic. 

“If you promise to not bother me during school, I’ll give you all the fried chicken you want.” Hyunjin perks up at this and nods, wide eyed and excited. 

Seungmin sighs and lays the dishtowel down. “I’m going to go finish my homework now- don’t bother me until I’m done.” He makes his way to the stairs, Hyunjin trailing after him like a lost puppy. Hyunjin stops at the foot of the stairs, clearly irritated. “Fine. But I get to sleep in your bed.” 

Seungmin flicks him on the forehead. “Nah. You get the floor.” He stops at the banister, looking down to where the demon is lying curled in the fetal position on the floor. “And Hyunjin- I’m not easy, you know. You’re going to have to try harder than that- I don’t know what Hell is like, but us mortals have standards.” And with that, he turned and walks into his room, shutting the door with a soft click behind him. 

Hyunjin sits up slowly, eyes wide and mouth agape. “Huh,” he says, scratching the back of his neck. His ears are a bright red, but he doesn’t pay that any mind.

 _Maybe,_ Hwang Hyunjin thinks, a small smile creeping over his face, _this won’t be so boring after all._

***  
**[ CHAT ROOM: BIG ANIME TITTY ]**

**tiny kangaroo: hey do u think minnie has been acting kinda weird this week  
** **squirrel boy: ^^^????  
** **tiny kangaroo: idk  
** **tiny kangaroo: kinda lovesick, I guess  
** **changbitch: LOVESICK LMAOOOOO  
** **catty thot: bitch what  
** **catty thot: who  
** **squirrel boy: we dont know!!!! he’s being super shady about it  
** **tiny kangaroo: he blushes all the time though;;; and hes giggling more  
** **tiny kangaroo: shit is scary, bro  
** **kangaroo chris: if its true, im happy for him :D  
** **big bear: yeah  
** **big bear: …  
** **kangaroo chris: what  
**big bear: nothing** **

********

**November 6th**

It’s been almost an entire week since Hyunjin snowballed his way into Seungmin’s life, and Seungmin can’t help but feel a bit annoyed with himself at the fact that despite having ample time, he’s made zero effort into researching ways to rid himself of the demon.

Truth be told, Hyunjin is somebody that he enjoys having around him, and that frightens him. He’s a demon. From Hell, which is apparently a real place. 

_Why are you taking this all so well? So easily?_

He ignores the small , quiet voice that tells him a truth he doesn’t want to know. 

Seungmin bites his lip as the demon holds the classroom door open for him, shifting the weight of his textbooks from arm to arm. He can’t help but feel like Hyunjin has an ulterior motive- there’s no way he would want to be around Seungmin just to be around Seungmin. Hyunjin is chattering on about how excited he is for snow- there’s none of that in Hell, obviously, and Hyunjin was in Africa for his brief stint in the forties, so it’s something he’s never experienced before.

Seungmin can feel that smile spreading across his face again- the once he catches himself doing more and more around Hyunjin. 

_This is bad, bad bad. You can’t expect things to stay the same._

So he does his best to curb what he already knows is there, moving as slow and as sweet as syrup inside of his chest. 

Hyunjin, apparently, is not impressed with the schooling system. He’s wearing one of Seungmin’s coats- a red Burberry piece that Jisung gifted to him “because I felt like it.” Red looks good on him. Maybe that’s why Seungmin spent so long picking it out. 

“So you just sit there. And watch someone talk to you for three hours? About numbers? That’s it?” 

Seungmin exhales out sharply through his nose, feet careful as he treads around the patches of black ice that dotted the campus sidewalks. “Yeah, because I find numbers are interesting, Hyunjin. They don’t lie, and they can tell you things.” 

“Well, I can tell you things too, and I’m much more interesting.” 

Seungmin raises an eyebrow. “Do you lie?” 

The demon purses his lips and shrugs, the movement making his bangs bounce against his forehead. “Just about as much as humans do, I guess. We’re not that different.” His hair is getting long: it’s dangerously close to mullet territory, and Seungmin makes a mental note to give him a haircut sometime soon. 

“Yes, well, if you take away the horns and immortality and latent supernatural powers, I guess you’re right.” Arms full of books, Seungmin tries to pull up his scarf with his teeth. Hyunjin _tsks_ and reaches out with a warm, warm hand to pull it up over his nose.

“Don’t do that- you’ll stretch the fabric,” Hyunjin says softly, knuckles lightly grazing Seungmin’s cheek. Seungmin just ducks his head, fighting back a blush that he knows is already visible on his face. 

_Oh dear._

The past six or so days have, without a doubt, been some of the most confusing and wonderful ones of his life. If Seungmin were a less logical person, he’d almost think that Hyunjin, in his own, demonic way, was trying to court him. 

It had started on the second day of Hyunjin’s arrival. Seungmin had woken up to a dead, two headed bird lying neatly at the foot of his bed, Hyunjin standing next to it with a bright, eager look in his eyes. It was safe to say that Seungmin had not taken it well. Hyunjin had taken the hint, and the next few days Seungmin had found just about every sweet pastry or candy shoved into his backpack or pockets, despite having no recollection of them have being placed there.

 _It’s a little cute,_ Seungmin admits to himself, peeking up at the demon from the corner of his eye and looking away immediately when he realizes that Hyunjin is already looking at him. 

They walk in comfortable silence for a while. Hyunjin opens his mouth to speak just as Seungmin’s phone goes off, obnoxiously blaring Britney Spears. People turn and stare, and Seungmin can feel his ears turning red under his toque.

“God- fucking-,” Seungmin yelps, startled, and Hyunjin snorts as he picks up Seungmin’s textbooks so he can pull his phone out of his jacket pocket and answer. 

“Hello?” Seungmin says breathlessly, mouthing thank you to Hyunjin, who gives him a little salute in response. 

It’s Jisung. “Hey- Seungmin, I hate to bother you during school, but I ran into this guy outside our complex and he says he knows you?” Jisung pauses, and when he speaks again, his voice is uncertain and a little wobbly. “He says he’s your dad?” 

Seungmin freezes, lips parted around half formulated words. He can hear both Jisung and Hyunjin speaking to him, but it’s as though he’s underwater, or someplace very far away, because it’s distorted and faint and grainy. _How did he find me?_

There’s no way that it could be him- Seungmin had made absolutely sure to change his phone number, his last name- there was a restraining order on the man, for god’s sakes. 

“Jisung,” Seungmin says quietly, voice trembling, “get inside, lock the door, and phone the police.” 

“Can’t do that, kiddo. We’re both inside, waiting for you to come home. I don’t think it’d be good for Jisung if you phoned anybody for help.” Seungmin claps a hand over his mouth, nausea rolling in the pit of his stomach. It’s been seven years since he’s heard that voice.

_It is him._

“Don’t you touch a hair on his head,” Seungmin whispers, “I’m on my way.” 

“Good boy.” His father disconnects, leaving Seungmin staring wide eyed and shaking at the ground. His phone slips out of his numb fingers, but Hyunjin is there to catch it before it hits the cobblestones. “Seungmin.” Warm hands cup his face, tilt his chin up, and there he is. Hyunjin’s expression is uncharacteristically worried, his face pinched and pale, his jaw clenched. 

“Seungmin. What’s wrong?” 

“My father,” Seungmin murmurs, dazed. “My father is back and he’s with Jisung.” Shaking himself out of his fear induced stupor, he grabs Hyunjin’s shoulders and shakes them.

“He’s dangerous, Hyunjin- I don’t know how he found me but he did and he has a restraining order and I don’t know what I’m going to do!” 

Hyunjin blinks. “But your father is-,” He shakes his head. “Never mind. Let’s go take care of this, yeah?” He closes his eyes, snaps his fingers, and after a long moment, opens them. “There we go. People can see me now. Can you call a cab?” 

Seungmin nods, reaching out for his phone with shaky hands, but Hyunjin shakes his head. “Forget it. It’ll take too long.” The demon wraps one arm around Seungmin’s waist, motioning for the shorter boy to place his arms around his neck.

“We’ll teleport. Usually mortals get eviscerated in the process, but you’re not- you’ll be fine. Probably. Hold on tight, okay?” 

Seungmin just nods, tucking his head into the crook of Hyunjin’s neck, heart thumping. 

_Jisung, Felix, please be okay. Just hold on._

He’s terrified. He feels like a child again, feels just as helpless as he did watching his father beat his mother. _It’s different this time. You have Hyunjin._ Pressure builds up against Seungmin’s ear drums, and he squeezes his eyes shut as a loud roaring wind whips around them, sucking the air right out of his lungs, tearing at his clothing until it feels like it’s about to fly off- and then they’re stumbling on the walkway of their apartment, windswept and breathing heavily but no worse for the wear. 

Seungmin sucks in the chilly November air and steels himself. He still can’t help the flinch that runs up his body when Hyunjin grabs onto his hand, lacing his warm fingers through Seungmin’s frozen ones. “It’ll be okay,” Hyunjin murmurs, gaze intense, “because I’m here. I won’t let anybody get hurt.” 

Seungmin can only nod, and that seems to be enough for Hyunjin, who walks up to the front door. Hyunjin knocks on the door three times, face cold and utterly void of emotion. Seungmin’s heart beats at a hummingbird’s pace in his throat, and he watches with mounting horror the shadow of a large man appears in the glass pane next to the door. 

The door creaks open slowly, and Hyunjin’s jaw clenches, his horns sparking. 

Kim Wooshik stands before him, and Seungmin has never felt so small. He looks Hyunjin up and down, a sour expression plastered onto his face. “You’re not my son.” His face is more haggard; almost gaunt now- these seven years have not been kind to him. He’s still retained the muscular physique that Seungmin remembers, and the neatly groomed facial hair is still the same. 

“Oh, there you are. Step out from behind your friend now- didn’t I tell you not to bring friends? - I want to see you.” 

“You can see him just fine,” Hyunjin snaps, a dangerous edge to his voice. “Why don’t you let us inside before we attract too much attention?” Wooshik makes a clicking noise with his tongue, and Seungmin shudders, because that means- 

_( - that means Daddy is angry, okay? When he makes that noise, you need to get behind me, or go hide, okay?” Seungmin stares up at his mother, who is nursing both a black eye and bruised ribs, and wishes he could do more. She sweeps back his bangs with a gentle, even hand, smiling softly. Do something for Mommy. But he’s only eight, and anything he does just gets mommy hurt more, so it’s best to just- )_

“It’s alright.” Seungmin steps out from behind Hyunjin. He tucks his hands into his pockets to obscure his shaking hands, and takes a deep breath. “Hello, father.” Wooshik smiles. It’s not a warm smile, or an unkind one. It’s the smile of a predator that has finally caught its prey after a long, long chase, the smile of someone who’s going to enjoy what they’re about to do. 

“Seungmin. Please come inside.” Wooshik brushes his hand against Seungmin’s back as he crosses the threshold of the door, and Seungmin can’t help but flinch. 

Almost immediately, Hyunjin is between them, a growl rumbling deep in his chest. 

“Ah,” Wooshik says over Hyunjin’s shoulder, clearly amused, “so you haven’t forgotten.” 

“You beat on Mother and I almost every day for fourteen years,” Seungmin says bitterly, “how could I have forgotten?” 

Hyunjin stiffens next to him, and Seungmin winces. _I don’t want or need your pity._

Seungmin looks over just in time to see an ugly expression flash over his face- for the first time, he looks truly demonic. “I,” Hyunjin muses, “am going to kill you. It’s going to be very slow, and very painful.” It’s almost conversational, the way he speaks. 

“Hyunjin,” Seungmin hisses, whispering hurriedly into the demon’s ear, “We need to make sure that Jisung and Felix are okay first. Okay?” 

Hyunjin’s face sours, but he nods, allowing Wooshik to lead them to the living room, where Felix and Jisung as sitting on the couch, handcuffed to each other.

“Hey,” Felix says nervously, eyes darting from Wooshik to Hyunjin to Seungmin and back again, “is this some weird role-play thing or-?” 

“Who the fuck are you?” Jisung says to Hyunjin, eyes narrowed. The demon raises an eyebrow, unimpressed. 

“I think we have other things to worry about, don’t you think?” 

Felix shakes the handcuffs that bind he and Jisung together. “I’ve gotta agree with you on that one. Why’d you cuff us, dude?” 

Wooshik shrugs. “My son needed incentive to come and see me, and I needed to make sure that you wouldn’t leave until he got here.” 

“Oh-kay,” Felix says slowly, “Well, he’s here now, so maybe let us go? This is kind of weird and I have a nail appointment at three so…” 

“Not quite yet,” Wooshik says, crouching down so he’s face to face with Felix, “Because I’d like to have some one-on-one time with my son.” Hyunjin scoffs. “Like fuck that’s going to happen.” 

Wooshik raises an eyebrow. “Oh?” Seungmin sucks in a breath as his father pulls a slim handgun from the waistband of his worn jeans. “I think it will.”

Jisung and Felix both let out horrified screams as Wooshik shoots Hyunjin twice in the chest. Hyunjin staggers backwards, knocking over two Chanel vases off a table and shattering them. Jisung gestures at Wooshik with his free hand, eyes bugging out of his skull.

“You can’t just _fucking shoot someone!”_

Seungmin steps towards Hyunjin’s still form, but stops dead in his tracks as Wooshik swings the gun in his direction. 

“Don’t move, unless you want to end up like your friend over there.” Wooshik looks so smug, so sure of himself, and it makes Seungmin want to laugh. So he does- he giggles, and all three of the people in the room look at him like he’s crazy. 

“Something funny?” 

Seungmin wipes hysterical tears from the corners of his eyes. “Yeah, actually. You’re even dumber than I remembered.” 

Wooshik tilts his head. “What?” 

“You really thought bullets would do anything to me?” Wooshik pales as Hyunjin stands up, brushing the remains of a fifteen-thousand-dollar vase off of his coat. “But- I shot you directly in the-,” 

Hyunjin sighs, shaking his head slowly. “You poor, dumb, little thing. I’m not human.” Hyunjin cracks his knuckles and rolls his neck back and forth, a fire burning in his green eyes. 

Felix leans over to whisper in Jisung’s ear. “Wait, does this bitch have _horns_?”

“I guess so? Seungmin seems to know him?” 

Jisung’s eyes light up. “Oh man, this was totally the guy Seungmin was blushing and sighing over. We have to text the group chat.” Felix frowns, looking over at where Jisung's phone lies on the coffee table. “But it's all the way over there…” 

Jisung looks over to see the weird horned man roundhouse kicking Seungmin’s dad in the face. “Dunno, think we’ll be okay. Seungmin doesn’t seem too worried.” 

“Hey, break his nose!” Seungmin cheers, fist pumping the air. Hyunjin nods solemnly, and moves in on Wooshik, who’s lying curled up on the Very Expensive white carpet.

**[ GROUP CHAT: BIG ANIME TIDDY ]**

**squirrel boy: HSEYBF  
** **squirrel boy: HEYS GUYS  
** **changbitch: what  
** **squirrel boy: ITS FELIX JISUNG AND I ARB HANDCUFFED TODGETHER  
** **changbitch: ew i don’t want to hear about this  
** **catty thot: i mean *I* do  
** **changbitch: …ew  
** **squirrel boy: NO STHIS SUENGMINS DAD HANFDCUFFFED US TOGETHER AND EHRES LIKE THIS DMON DUDE FIGHTING HIM  
** **squirrel boy: SEUNGMFSIN IS FUCKING A DEMON  
** **kangaroo chris: felix… I thought we said no more edibles  
** **squirrel boy : DUMB BITCHES SEE FOR YOURSELVES  
** **[squirrel boy sent DEOMN!!!!.MOV]  
** **kangaroo chris: dude WHAT  
** **changbitch: are his horns on FIRE?????  
** **catty thot: how did seungmin catch such a fine piece of ass omg  
** **big bear: is this for real  
** **squirrel boy: IT IS!! I LVE MY LFIE  
** **kangaroo chris: hey have u maybe considered uh calling the police?  
** **squirrel boy: OH. YEAH  
** **squirrel: OK BRB  
**

**little fox: what the FUCK is going on**

**big bear: hi jeongin! u shouldn't have opened the app**

**little fox: my parents only give me so much computer time :(**

**changbitch: i phoned the police the moment felix mentioned handcuffs  
**

**  
**

**big bear: smart move  
**

**  
**

**catty thot: why wont anyone handcuff me : (**

********** **

When the police arrive, they stumble upon a scene like nothing they’ve seen before. “What the hell…” Officer Julia mumbles, slack jawed.

Four boys turn to look at them from where they’re sitting on white leather couches, _Gilmore Girls_ playing on the large flat screen television in front of them. 

“Oh!” A freckled, auburn haired boy raises a handcuffed hand, pulling up the arm of the boy sitting next to him. “Hello! Could you get these handcuffs off of me, please? Seungmin’s dad is over there.” 

Officer Julia casts a wary look at the still bloody lump curled up in the corner of the room. 

“I think he’s still alive,” the freckled boys say helpfully, “because he was still breathing when I got up to get a bowl of Froot Loops, like two episodes ago.” 

“I-yeah, okay, I’m going to need paramedics in here STAT.” Julia looks up from her radio to the other two boys. One, a redhead with large, round glasses seems visibly shaken, while the other, a dark haired boy, meet her gaze unwaveringly.

None of the boys have scrapes on their knuckles, or any visible injuries, for that matter- if not for the unconscious man in the corner of the room and the two boys handcuffed together, the scene before her could almost be normal. 

_Well, not exactly normal,_ Officer Julia thinks as the rest of her team floods into the apartment, _nobody I know watches Gilmore Girls at three in the afternoon_. She shudders, shakes her head, and gets to work. 

***  
The clock on the wall of the police station reads 3 AM. Seungmin can feel his eyelids growing heavy with sleep, and he hopes that Hyunjin finishes up with the officers soon. 

Seungmin doesn’t know how Hyunjin manages to convince the police that Wooshik beat himself into a near coma with two Chanel vases, and he definitely doesn’t know how Jisung and Felix keep their mouths shut about the whole ‘Hyunjin-is-a-demon’ bit, but Seungmin’s never been one to argue with a good thing.

And, as it turns out, breaking a restraining order with the intent to harm is punishable for a minimum five years in prison, as well as a hefty fine. 

_Either way,_ Seungmin thinks, watching as Hyunjin spoons lie after sugar spun lie into the officer’s mouths, _I don’t think I need to be quite so afraid of him anymore_. 

He thinks of how small Wooshik had looked, how old and bitter and ugly he had been, and Seungmin realizes with a start that maybe he'd changed.

_You're not afraid to move ahead anymore._

He shifts in his uncomfortable interrogation room chair as Felix and Jisung take a seat on either side of him. 

“He’s still not finished yet?” Felix asks, following Seungmin’s gaze to where Hyunjin is sitting. The two cops talking to him seem almost smitten, and if Seungmin looks carefully, he can see the demon’s horns sparking slightly. 

“Nope.” Felix sighs and hands Seungmin a bottle of water, which he accepts gratefully. He twists off the plastic cap and takes a long drink- he’s thirstier than he thought he was. 

Jisung picks at a hangnail. “Sooo… we going to talk about how your boyfriend is a super hot demon dude that beat the shit out of your chickenbitch dad, or are we going to just forget it ever happened?” 

Seungmin chokes on his water, spluttering as it shoots out his nose and sprays his two friends. “He’s not my boyfriend! He came out of that fucking stupid Ouija board you bought at Target! Technically, this is all your fault!” 

Felix frowns, wiping his face with the back of his hand. “Say it, don’t spray it, Minnie. And to be fair, I don’t remember an Ouija board- and regardless, you still totally have a honer for him, don’t you?” 

Seungmin shivers. “A honer?” 

Jisung nods solemnly. “Yeah. It’s a heart boner. Like if your dick was your heart, but also your dick.” 

“Jesus- I mean, yeah. I guess I have a honer for Hyunjin.” 

“You have a what for me?” The three boys look up to see Hyunjin standing in front of them, hair mussed and coat draped over his arm. There’s a soft, amused smile on his face- it’s one that Seungmin has come to realize is specifically for him. 

He twists his mouth into a pout and looks off to the side. “Nothing, just these two being stupid as per usual.” 

_He’s lying_ , Jisung mouths at Hyunjin, and the demon smirks in response. _I know._

“We’re free to go, you guys. Cops might call for follow ups in the next couple days, but other than that, we’re finished here.” 

Felix bites his lip. “Is it safe to go home?” Hyunjin nods. “Yup. Police cleared everything- they’re going to post some guys outside to keep watch, but it doesn’t matter. Nothing will get past me anyways.” 

Jisung and Felix brighten at this, and pull out their phones to rapidly text someone. Seungmin eyes his two best friends, his suspicion growing. “Let’s go, then.” 

Seungmin and Hyunjin walk out of the police station hand in hand, and with every step, Seungmin can feel himself growing lighter. 

***  
**[ GROUP CHAT: BIG ANIME TIDDY ]**

**changbitch: so like can we meet him  
** **catty thot: you think he can hook me up with one of his demon friends  
** **squirrel boy: guys  
** **squirrel boy: we aren’t even in the house rn  
** **little kangaroo: we decided to sleep in a hotel  
** **big bear: oh : (( were u guys too freaked out to sleep at home?  
** **kangaroo chris: : ((  
** **little kangaroo: LOL nah  
** **little kangaroo: its just that they’re like.  
** **squirrel boy: you kno  
** **( squirrel boy sent a GIF from GIPHY)  
** **changbitch: JESUS i don’t need that imagery  
** **big bear: my eyes…. my Eyes, marty…  
**

**little fox: my mom says u guys r a bad influence**

**changbitch: ur mother is a smart woman**

**catty thot: ….u think they’d let me join in  
**

**  
**

 

**kangaroo chris: minho Shut Up  
**

**November 7th**

Seungmin wakes up to a throbbing sensation in his head and an armful of Hwang Hyunjin. They’re in his room- Hyunjin had made sure to check under the bed and in the closet the night before, just in case.

Seungmin isn’t sure how he feels about Hyunjin knowing he has a large collection of Pokémon plushies. 

The demon snuffles in his sleep, pushing his face into Seungmin’s chest, and he can’t help but sigh fondly and card his fingers through the other boy’s hair. It’s very silky and much softer than it looks, and Seungmin can’t help but think how much he’s grown to like this strange, odd person. 

Seungmin startles as Hyunjin's eyes blink open and lock onto his immediately. 

“You have questions.” It’s a statement, and Seungmin feels his breath catch in his throat as Hyunjin rearranges himself so they’re face to face, scant centimetres apart. “Yeah,” Seungmin murmurs, eyes tracing the way the morning lights spills onto Hyunjin’s elegant features, “I do.” 

Hyunjin closes his eyes and smiles, burrowing into the pillow and reaching out to squeeze Seungmin’s hand. “Go ahead, then.” 

“Did I really summon you? Through that Ouija board? Or is there another reason you’re here that I don’t know about?” 

Hyunjin hums, expression thoughtful. “Yes and no. The board, as silly as it looked, made it easier for me to come through the veil to you. The first contact is always the most uncomfortable- sorry about that, by the way. But I’ve been looking out for you for a long, long time, Seungmin. I was assigned to watch over you when you turned sixteen. I guess the best way to describe it would be as though I’m your babysitter? Your guardian angel- well, you know.” 

Well, that would explain the weird shit that had always happened at his grandparents’ house. 

“But why- why watch over me? I’m not much- I’m just a normal person.” 

Hyunjin taps the area over Seungmin’s heart with two fingers. “You’re not just that, Seungmin. You’re lovely, and kind hearted, and witty- and, well, you’re not entirely human.” 

Seungmin feels as though he’s just been hit several times in the head with a blunt object. “I’m not human?” 

Hyunjin shakes his head, eyes tired. “Your father- that man- he’s not your biological father, you should be happy to know. Your real father is a demon, or some other being from hell. I wouldn’t have been assigned to look after you otherwise.” 

Seungmin exhales. “Do you know who it is?” Hyunjin shakes his head. “We can find out. You’re what we call a half-breed- you should be able to cross between our realm and yours with relative ease.” 

Seungmin gasps. “Does that mean I have horns? Can I teleport?” Hyunjin laughs, and it’s loud and so, so lovely. “Hold on, cowboy. Let’s take it one step at a time, yeah?” Seungmin snuggles closer to Hyunjin and leans his forehead against the demon’s, careful not to bump into his horns. 

“Okay,” He whispers, “one step at a time.” 

They lie like that for a long while, breaths mingling and fingers intertwined, just resting. It feels like they’re on the edge of something, both of them holding back from speaking it aloud for the fear the other will back away. 

“Hey,” Hyunjin murmurs, “isn’t there one more question you wanted to ask me?” 

“I don’t think so?” It’s so warm under the floral patterned comforter, and the light from the window is filling the room with a safe golden glow. He’s so tired; he just wants to sleep, but Hyunjin’s eyes are sparkling with something secret and so Seungmin wracks his brains for any questions he’s asked. 

Father Ambrose’s words flit through his head, and Seungmin reaches out to cup them in his hands.

_“Hyunjin isn’t his true name. All demons have a true name. Once you find his real name, you can banish him, destroy him- whichever you want.”_

But Seungmin doesn’t want to banish or destroy Hyunjin- if anything, he wants to bind them together, loop each other’s red strings so tightly around his fingers that there’s no way to untangle them. 

“Hyunjin- what’s your name? Your real name?” 

Hyunjin smiles slow and sweet, reaches out and brushes his fingers over Seungmin’s cheeks. “I thought you’d never ask.” 

Seungmin has kissed a lot of people in the twenty years he’s spent on Earth, but they all pale in comparison to this. Hyunjin is slow and steady against him; he’s embers and smoke, not the fire and brimstone Seungmin expected. His lips are soft and impossibly gentle against his. Hyunjin cradles Seungmin like he’s a fragile creature made of glass, his hands moving in gentle circles over Seungmin’s shoulder blades. Seungmin presses a tentative hand against Hyunjin’s chest, trying to find his heartbeat. He makes a soft noise of surprise.

 _It’s beating so fast._

“That’s because of you,” Hyunjin murmurs, his lips just barely grazing the shell of Seungmin’s ear. “Everything I’ve done has been because of you. For you.” 

The name that Hyunjin whispers to Seungmin in the warm glow of his bedroom is feather soft, a little song that only Seungmin knows. A world of eight billion people, another realm full of beings, and Seungmin is the only one who can speak Hyunjin's name. 

“Thank you,” Seungmin replies, his throat tight, and Hyunjin just laughs and pulls him in for another searing kiss.


End file.
